Members of the House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously resolved to probe the alleged undervaluation of the assets of the privatised Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) and Mobile Telecommunications (MTEL), which was sold to NATCOM in 2014.
It would be recalled that in December 2014, NITEL/M-tel was sold to a consortium named NATCOM for the sum of $242.3 million by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
The resolution was passed following the adoption of the motion sponsored by Henry Nwawuba, who expressed concern over the controversies trailing the exercise.
In his lead debate, Nwawuba argued that the “failure of NITEL and Mtel to live up to the expectations of Nigerians led to their privatisation and subsequent sale in December 2014.”
He however noted that since the privatisation and take-over of the companies by the new owner, lots of controversies had been raised about the processes leading to the sales, particularly about the alleged under-valuation of the companies prior to their sales.
He further noted that the huge revenue potentials of telecoms could benefit the country in view of its ability to generate employment if the telecommunications companies were made to work.
While calling for the intervention of the House in the bid to resolve the lingering crisis, Nwawuba urged that the investigation into the sales of the companies should be supported to maximise the nation’s resources.
In his contribution, Leo Ogor, minority leader, blamed the BPE as one of the reasons why the companies had not worked after its sale.
He however explained that the intent of the investigation was to ascertain the veracity of the sale of these companies.
Contributing to the debate, Egwu Emmanuel told the House that the investigation into the sales should be supported to maximise the resources of the country.
He added that privatisation was supposed to make the companies efficient but this had not been the case so far since it was sold to NATCOM.
While ruling, Speaker Yakubu Dogara referred the motion to the Joint Committee on Telecommunication and Privatisation for further legislative action.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions adjourned its investigate hearing on alleged corruption charges of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) chairman, Danladi Umar to December 9 and 10.
Chairman of the committee, Uzoma Abonta, said “in the spirit of fairness, it will be best if the petitioner was present, to either defend or substantiate his evidence.”
Chairman of the committee, Uzoma Abonta, said “in the spirit of fairness, it will be best if the petitioner was present, to either defend or substantiate his evidence.”
It would be recalled that a group known as the Anti Corruption Network had petitioned the House against the CCT chairman on allegations of mismanagement of funds. Time for a break.
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